Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Hometown News For Orange County, Texas
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 187
The list of "honey do's" posted on the refrigerator is a dead give away, the longer the list the better the fishing is at the moment and vice versa. Every now and again it's a must to get off the water and get caught back up on things around my house that have been pushed back to the point of being ridiculous. You know the fishing is good when you are cutting your grass at night with the help of a q-beam mounted to your riding mower. Don't laugh, I know some of you will employ...
Say the words “sight fishing” and a few thoughts that immediately pop into your head are “tails” “clear water” and “shallow”. None of the previously mentioned words conjure up thoughts of the upper coast of Texas, sight fishing is a lower coast activity and can only be done down there. Well if you subscribe that line of thinking then you have either have a rude awakening coming or you are cringing at this article because you have already figured out how good this style of fish...
For the majority of upper coast anglers the thought of actually seeing a fish before you cast to it is more of a foreign concept than going to a restaurant that doesn't serve sweet tea, it's just not natural. In the minds of most anglers who fish with me the thought of water with clarity good enough to see fish in is usually reserved for venues farther south or some Caribbean island where the white sand is nearly blinding, not the upper coast of Texas or Louisiana. Now don't g...
No matter how hard lure manufacturers try they will never be able to create a lure that works better than real thing, period. The typical profile of the weekend angler is not that of the high end trophy trout hunter who chunks artificial lures for hours on end looking for one big fish, it’s the fisherman who takes a quart of live shrimp or a bucket of mud minnows and looks for anything that will bite. Much has been made of the big trout phenomenon and all the hoopla that s...
"Be careful what you wish for because you just may get it" is what I was often told as a kid. Things that seem like great ideas at the time will often turn out to be unwanted nuisances that are worse than the original option. For months Texas anglers, myself included, cursed the constant high winds and prayed that they would stop in order to make the bay systems mote user friendly. Well, the winds have subsided and the now the temperatures have just gone through the roof...
I would bet a sizable sum of money that if most saltwater anglers were to be asked to describe what a picture perfect fishing scenario looks like that I could easily describe it before they even started. The classic thigh deep flat with clear green water dotted with potholes and very defined grass edges. Or perhaps an even shallower flat with a little less grass so visibility would be at a maximum in order to see cruising fish or even a few tailing reds. These are the images t...
No matter how hard lure manufacturers try they will never be able to create a lure that works better than real thing, period. The typical profile of the weekend angler is not that of the high end trophy trout hunter who chunks artificial lures for hours on end looking for one big fish, it’s the fisherman who takes a quart of live shrimp or a bucket of mud minnows and looks for anything that will bite. Much has been made of the big trout phenomenon and all the hoopla that s...
In many ways our freshwater counterparts have it made; no tides to worry about, no fish stealing sharks, and you couldn’t step on a sting ray if you tried. The saltwater folks on the other hand have plenty of positives as well like how many hard pulling species of fish one can encounter on a single trip, or the simple fact that you have the potential to hook a creature that may indeed be bigger than your boat. Both sides have great arguments that back up their claims to b...
The slick surface of the lake was disrupted by skipping shrimp and the familiar sound of trout crashing the helpless crustaceans. Each cast with a soft plastic was met the familiar thump of an aggressive fish that thought they were much larger than they really were. One small trout after another continued to hammer the jigs and also continued to be too small. The next logical thought for catching bigger fish was to go to a topwater plug, which usually works well under these...
Years ago there was an incredibly popular ad campaign started by the athletic shoe giant known as Nike that coined the phrase “Just Do It”. The catchy slogan has become entrenched in our pop culture mindset and in some ways represents the way people nowadays think they should act regardless of how it affects others around them. It’s no secret the population near the Texas coast is growing and the gravitational pull felt farther inland by vacation loving tourists makes the b...
“You can’t see the forest for the trees” is a well-used phrase that I’m sure each of us has not only heard but can completely relate to in some form or fashion. On more than one occasion over the past few weeks my wife and I have laughed while watching different groups of people in places like restaurants become living examples of the phrase about seeing the forest. Case in point, a family of 4 at the table and each one has an electronic device in their possession, so they ha...
There have always been places in the community that were considered "constants", places that just seemed like they would always be there. One such place has been brought back to life and the new version has proven to be a huge hit with both local and out of town folks who enjoy our local waterways. The new "Cove Marina" on Adam's Bayou has rapidly turned into a top local destination and it just keeps getting better. New owners, Quinton and Jacqueline Singleton, have revived...
The launch was uncrowded and the temperatures were already starting to climb as Ron Begnaud and I prepared to head out in search of some willing redfsih in the marsh. Begnaud, who lives in Lafayette Louisiana, is about as hard core a marsh fisherman as I know. Many of our conversations begin and end with thoughts of new and unexplored regions of the marshes that border Sabine and Calcasieu as well as other areas farther east. Finding a prime redfish pond that has no fishing...
You ever wonder what a 64 pack of Crayola crayons, 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, or bags of assorted candy have in common? The answer is they offer something for everyone because we all don’t have the same taste. If everyone did things exactly like everyone else then life would be ridiculously boring and mundane. It’s choices and options that give each individual the opportunity to succeed and sometimes those options and choices are a little different than wha...
One of the biggest and most intriguing factors that keep fishermen coming back day after day is the process of discovery, figuring out the puzzle so to speak. The task of sifting through all the variables and making sense out of all the factors in order to establish a pattern is what drives many anglers. Unknowingly we all go through the same process every time we fish but without the fanfare. Most of us don’t realize we are even doing it, establishing a pattern, but just a...
It’s a given during certain months that there will be tons of ink dedicated to the pursuit of certain fish. There are “big trout” months, “flounder run” fiestas, and “spotted fever” epidemics during the summer when the redfish steal the show. I get it, believe me I truly get it. All the while most folks believe that the sun rises and sets with the “big 3”, specks, reds, and flounder when that may not be totally true. I cannot count how many times I have told folks who attend...
From my perch on the poling platform I often have plenty of time to think while I push my little boat around the marsh. The standard stuff that goes through every fisherman’s mind usually dominates my thoughts. “Where are the fish?” “Should I change locations?” “Is this the right bait?” Nothing out of the ordinary, just everyday fishing thoughts that happen to come to mind. Plenty of those moments routinely get interrupted by my fishing partner for that day and I snap back t...
Just about any Texas fisherman who ever wet a line knows that the spring is full of many things, most of which fall into the category of uncertainty and unpredictability. The all time #1 villain is the weather man and his friend the marine forecast, aka “that #$%@ wind”! For plenty of us who take advantage of every season the waders that were used during duck hunts have become your best friend as the gears switch in favor of chasing trophy trout in 60 plus degree water. All...
Next week marks the annual hiatus from school that kids of all ages look for once the Christmas holidays are over, spring break is here! During this week off from the rigorous demands of reading, writing, and arithmetic you can rest assured that a cry will rise up from the masses that there is nothing “fun” to do. Video games have long been mastered and challenges are getting more difficult to come by every day, give your student a first hand look at some real life they may...
You ever wonder what a 64 pack of Crayola crayons, 31 flavors of ice cream at Baskin Robbins, or bags of assorted candy have in common? The answer is they offer something for everyone because we all don’t have the same taste. If everyone did things exactly like everyone else then life would be ridiculously boring and mundane. It’s choices and options that give each individual the opportunity to succeed and sometimes those options and choices are a little different than wha...
A steady dose of big south wind has just wreaked havoc on the local fishing scene and all but shut down the open water of Sabine Lake. As water conditions have improved the winds have ramped up so it's been tough to get out and take a look at much water. The river has cleared up somewhat after some heavier rains earlier in the month, so hopes are high that there is some nice water in the lake. A few folks I have talked with lately have been hiding in the protected waters...
The loud noises you have been hearing from your neighbors garage more than likely have been the sounds of fishing tackle emerging from winter hibernation. The combination of warmer weather and better water conditions have many anglers scurrying to knock the dust off their boats and head for the water. Both freshwater and saltwater anglers alike have benefitted lately from the conditions and the bite has improved in both places. If the current forecast holds true it looks like...
I have no idea why we as anglers are constantly trying to complicate things, always re-inventing the wheel and adding corners. In our never ending quest to catch more and bigger fish we often stray down the path which we think leads to discovery only to find that out that if we had just read the street signs we’d be in much better shape. Over the years it seems like we have become so detailed and specific that the average fisherman suffers from “paralysis by analysis”. Fishi...
It's a common known fact that we have some of the craziest weather in the world here in Texas, especially on the coast. January and February have historically been some of our worst weather months, the conditions at this time of the year coupled with low water temps can make it down right miserable. During these periods the average fisherman may defer from the outdoors to a warmer climate by the fire thinking that the fishing won't be worth the effort, big mistake. For many...
“Howdy Tex” was a common greeting from other anglers as Bink Grimes and I strode down the sidewalk towards our waiting boat. “I wonder how they know we’re from Texas” I thought to myself, then I looked down at my rods and it hit me as gazed at the fist full of baitcasters. We were in Florida and baitcasters are a dead giveaway that you are from the Lone Star State, down in the Sunshine State spinning tackle rules the angling world. Now before you go get in a fired up huff a...
